Dr. Jazmin Osorio-Mendoza

My general interests are in the areas of animal physiology, behaviour, energy balance and nutrition of small mammals and birds.

During my early career, I collaborated on several national projects with the leading institutions in my home country such as the National University Autonomous of Mexico (UNAM) and University of Guadalajara (UDG). I stared my career working with frugivorous bats physiology. I compared nitrogen excretion in a frugivorous bat fed with artificial energy-rich or energy-poor diets to test the role of increased ammonia in urine as an energy- and/or nitrogen-saving mechanism. Furthermore, I used carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes from breath, plasma and red blood cells from hummingbirds, frugivorous, insectivorous, granivorous birds to contrast their food selection during the dry season of the year when the plant resources are high but there is a drastic decrease in insects.

My most recent research was in the area of behaviour and energetics using a laboratory mouse model. For several decades it has been proposed that the change in heat production during and after a meal (thermic effect of food) serve as the signal to initiate and terminate food intake. Moreover, Over the past few decades, the capacity to dissipate heat has been highlighted as a crucial factor in energy regulation since it can impose a maximal limit on the amount of energy that the animals can process. Therefore, I designed several experiments where I tested the heat dissipation limit theory by assessing the effects of the thermic effect of food and it relation with satiation. To do this, I collaborate with several experts on the field from institution in the UK (energetics department, University of Aberdeen) and China (Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences).

My currently investigation focus on the relations between metabolic homeostasis and the clock rhythmicity across the body. It was recently suggested that after a meal, leptin signaling in the hypothalamus controls an increase in BAT thermogenesis to promote satiation. This effect shows a circadian rhythm that may be regulated by circadian gating of hypothalamic leptin reception. Disruption of this leptin-hypothalamus-BAT axis may suppress satiety after specific diets, thus, in the long run affecting energy balance..  In this project, we aim to address the underlying mechanisms of leptin induce thermogenesis in the circadian regulation of food intake.